LFA Appreciation

The car is magnificent Sterling , absolutely incredible
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Did you read this: https://www.motor1.com/news/299827/lexus-sold-two-lfas-2018/

Impressive!

 

Just saw a black Nurburgring at C&C Scottsdale this past weekend...Will be sold at Barrett-Jackson. Looked awesome!

 

I believe the same thing. I don't remember but i have read that some LFAs Lexus gave them to a couple executive members of the company, so i assume that this is the case.

 

They look better in black...

 

I believe Akio has a matte black LFA

https://lexusenthusiast.com/2012/05/18/akio-toyodas-matte-black-lexus-lfa/

 

The matte black was a $20K option.

When I went into a local dealer with my allocation, the owner's son asked if I was interesting in the matte black and then said it was insulting to customers for Lexus to upcharge $20K for a paint job, and then followed with a 4 letter barrage. It seems that very few of the dealers were prepared for this level of car in terms of price and customization.

 

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Ok sterling , you asked for it . Joe has always been very kind to me so I’ll do my best for a detailed explanation . Please let me know what else I can cover or what you want more detail on .

After years of searching for a Lexus LFA thanks to my fends at Lusso Prestige I found the perfect car for me .

What can I say ?

The Lexus LFA . Perhaps the most misunderstood and under appreciated supercar ever built . Personally I know the level of obsession that went into creating this car . The expense , the complete single bloody minded pursuit of perfection that went Into making this car . Some say only the mclaren f1 and the Bugatti Veyron are comparable in this respect and after years of geeking out over the LFA , reading every article and watching every video I completely agree . Just spend 45 minutes watching the "megafactories Lexus LFA" program on you tube and you will understand a little of the borderline madness that went into forging this carbon fibre Katana of a car .

This car was built to zealously high standards , with such over engineering , with such attention to detail and obsessiveness it almost has no equal in that respect . It borders on the religious . Workers were hand picked for their "samurai spirit" they were not workers but artisans . They worked to extreme lengths to make this car as perfect as they could . The aim was to create a car that is the most fun to drive .


"It’s just a Lexus" and "rice rocket" comments actually make me sad . Not sad for me sad for the complete lack of understanding of the so called petrol head making the comment. Its heresy , blasphemy and believe me come judgment day the furious god of fuel and internal combustion will punish the unbelievers.


When you see the LFA in photos you see A flat almost slab sided , 2 dimensional looking car . When you see it in person however , you see the creases the curves, the detail in the way it’s designed to cut through the air , the sheer brutality of some angles , the single minded pursuit of function being so much more a priority than form . You notice the air channels , the vents , inlets and outlets . Yet as a stark contrast to the brutality of some shapes you notice and appreciate an almost delicate finesse of others , the gentle beauty of some details , only when you take time to look at , truly look at the car of apparent contrasts do you appreciate what a great Looking car this is. I think personally it’s beautiful , in it’s own way , arguable in a very unique and Japanese way but beautiful it is . Its certainly original and a copy of nothing .

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I urge you leave all preconceptions at the door with this car, prepare for something really special .


The interior fit and finish is really something to behold. It has supreme build quality, the (heated)seats are very comfortable . The dash is well laid out and very Japanese the steering wheel is a masterpiece and very comfortable to hold. There is no internal storage to speak off apart from the shelf behind the driver and passengers head . No cup holder no real door pockets but a fairly adequate glove box .

This is a place of work.

The paddles and indicator stalk’s are so fine. The left paddle takes more effort than the right paddle , the indicators are slim and delicate looking slivers yet feel indestructible. In fact the whole interior seems made from a single piece of metal . The slight bronze hue to the centre console , door handles , door grips etc are very nice to look at and there isn’t a rattle or squeak anywhere to be found . The leatherwork is perfect . It feels like a car that will do a million miles without an issue inside , apart for the seat bolsters . They require care getting in and out of the car or will wear really badly . The highest mileage LFA in the world (recently written off when it fell off the back of a transporter) was immaculate apart from the worn drivers side bolster . This can be avoided if you simply take care .

You go through the pilots start up procedure , key in , turned , both paddles pulled , foot on brake and then start button pressed. The engine comes into life immediately , I mean immediately like it’s electric . It’s an absolute masterpiece of an engine . Let’s not mince words here , the LFA probably has the best engine of any car I have experienced .

Let that sink in for a minute , we are talking Carrera GT and f50 et all . Never has a car engine spun up so viciously . Never ever. It picks up fine and starts going hard around 3000 and by the time it reaches 6000 ish it’s going crazy but then it takes off again and is truly , completely stark raving mental . The sheer savagery as it howls and screams it’s way around to 9500 rpm has to be experienced to be appreciated . However in s strange way it seems cultured , like it’s ok to do this , the car will do this for a million miles , it’s normal, nothing t worry about . This is all accompanied by the most wonderful noises , screams , a haunting howling , a ragged wail , a roar , this engine sounds glorious . It’s similar to the Carrera GT but it seems to be in the "sounding amazing zone" for much more of the Rev range and you get to hear it so much better inside too . The noise is what initially drew me to the Car all those years ago , it’s a weapons grade engine this one . To quote someone much wiser than me "it’s Not the roar of a beast or a whisper of an angel but the roar of an angel", ‘nuff said I reckon.

The rifle crack of the gear changes seem to amplify this , revs go mad , CRACK , next gear , more revs and repeat . It’s truly addictive . In its most extreme mode in the wet an up shift will actually kick the tail out if you are going hard enough .

The gearbox is like the artificial jerk engineered into some DSG gearboxes for "emotion" , downshifts are savagely fast , upshifts a little slower (you have 7 settings) They can also be smooth as silk (if not particularly fast) if you manage the throttle pedal . This is the only way to use this gearbox , as a manual . Use it as an automatic and it’s just dreadful , believe me , it’s as bad as you can imagine a gearbox to be in automated mode . Slow , clumsy , slurring , indecisive , need I continue ? Sure even in manual it’s no dsg box for smoothness etc but it’s perfect for the role at hand in its own way , more than fast enough and adds to the drama and the noise . The harder you drive it the better it works . I love how mechanical it all feels , sitting

In and driving this car is like controlling one of those giant Japanese war robots from an Anime.

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The steering is sharp but not excessively so . There is great accuracy and surprising feel for an electric rack .

The brakes are good and full of feel and easy to modulate .

The car is very well damped , great passive damping all round , only upset by the bumpiest B roads . It has double wishbones up front and a race developed multi link at rear combined with KYB height adjustable dampers with external oil reservoirs and Chuhatsu race springs .

The car seemingly rotates around where you sit , by your hip. It feels wonderful this chassis but traction is broken easily . You need to be aware , at least in the wet , the katana is razor sharp and can cut. She needs new tyres , still on the bridge stones that were not very good 10 years ago let alone now . The car slides very easily at low speeds and very controlled but do not disrespect it. The stig remarked that high speed drifting of this car was a blood sport , a claim I can actually believe . She breaks traction around 9000 rpm in 3rd bloody gear (in the damp at least)in a straight line , it’s very exciting but a set of ps4s will take things up A level again , like the ss did for the Carrera GT . In fact many aspects of this car remind me of the Carrera GT . Imagine a Carrera GT in a saville row suit and you have a Lexus LFA .

I understand now why Evo preferred it to the 599gto and why those that know this car and have experienced it rate it so highly and sometimes it has an almost cultish following . From clarckson to Harris and Meaden etc , those that have had a chance to really drive this car can see it’s almost heavenly glory .

I wanted to put a few hundred miles on the car before giving my verdict and now that I have I can say as a driving experience, as a fun , toy of a car the LFA is imperious . It’s magnificent , you can well believe the amount of money Lexus lost on each car . But the amazing thing is the sheer indestructibility of the thing , seemingly hewn from Adamantium , utterly over engineered by almost religious zeal , you could very well use this car every single day of the week, provided you leave the gearbox in manual remember .

In summary It’s the samurai , the carbon katana , we will never see its no compromise no budget limit from a company like Toyota like again , a masterpiece.

Curse me for not being braver sooner .

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My sentiments exactly on sight and sound!

The only improvement I can think of would be an LFA painted in Structure Blue!

 

Saw this tasty example today at the Toyota display in the Odiaba area of Tokyo.
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I enjoy his approach to vlogging
He saw the bunching up amongst these guys and decided to provide a glimpse of super car culture across the globe, instead of limiting the game to London, a few UE spots and Dubai
The key to their success is access to the toys and he does pretty well, though Shmee appears to have outpaced all others

 

hatWisdom
All I can say is WOW, your write up on you life living with the LFA mimics my experience to the letter. I believe only owners of this fantastic machine can truly relate to what you have articulated. What you have said is just SO SPOT ON. Certainly the best synopsis of the overall ownership experience I have ever read.
I will add my two cents regarding the handling of the LFA, after tracking my # 424, in that the car can only be truly appreciated when exercised on the track which is true all super cars. It is truly incredible in the way in takes care of business, thanks to the literally countless hours that were spent at the Nurburgring in the pursuit of Lexus inspired perfection, inspiring a sense on incredible confidence where you feel as one with the car and you can do no wrong.

As more people get to experience this car it will become a true icon as time passes.